OK people, here goes. Mrs LOM and I are coming back from France in late May. We'd like somewhere cheap the lay our heads on the way back. We often stay at Ibis type hotels and have no problems with them. We like to stay somewhere where we are within walking distance of a village / town / city centre as opposed to an edge of town / industrial estate setting. We will be setting off from a 2 night stop at Versailles and doing a straight motorway slog till we get to our stop off, then hope to take a bit of a scenic route back to the frozen north the next day. Many thanks in advance.

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used to be littleoldman but forgot password due to failing memory

Are you crossing the channel the same day you leave Versailles or looking for somewhere abroad for the stopover.
A good place to stay 50mins from Calais is Montreuil sur Mer. The other place I would consider is Ypres in Belgium. Easy run up the motorway via Lille but also doable on the back routes from Paris in a day, at least until the run in near the end. Ypres is very very interesting with every accommodation option. Easy run to Calais on motorway in the morning.
On the UK side if you want to stop within an hour or so the Hilton at Maidstone is convenient with good offers in advance, a pool etc and a good value food pub a few hundred yards up the road.

Are you crossing the channel the same day you leave Versailles or looking for somewhere abroad for the stopover.
A good place to stay 50mins from Calais is Montreuil sur Mer. The other place I would consider is Ypres in Belgium. Easy run up the motorway via Lille but also doable on the back routes from Paris in a day, at least until the run in near the end. Ypres is very very interesting with every accommodation option. Easy run to Calais on motorway in the morning.
On the UK side if you want to stop within an hour or so the Hilton at Maidstone is convenient with good offers in advance, a pool etc and a good value food pub a few hundred yards up the road.

Village Hotel at Maidstone is cheaper than the Hilton, good food on site, plus other diners nearby. Swimming pool on site too. Used to stay there, but normally closer to Dover.

Ashford International is another one we stay at, plenty of places nearby, Sainsbury's, Nando's, etec etc

Or nearby the Ashford Holiday Inn, but Holiday Inn's aren't that cheap anywhere

Ramada Hotel at Whitfield near Dover is good, curry house & 2 pubs within walking distance, as is a 24hr Tesco

On the sea front at Dover is the Churchill Hotel or the Premier Inn, food at the Premier Inn is good, even if you're not a resident.

A little extra info may be required. This would be our one day route home from Versailles https://goo.gl/maps/HyDcFPYgCmF2 + https://goo.gl/maps/enBf7tDCmhQ2 . I really dislike motorway but you do have to get to and fro the playground. Normally I'd just take it on the chin as the cost of a play about in the sun. But we have 4 such days (2 down , 2 back) and as it's a family holiday with some of the children (who are travelling by car), Mrs LOM doesn't want to leave them until we're back in the UK. So I'd like to get far enough into the UK so that the we can have a leisurely final day through less densely populated areas. I'm happy with 300 - 350 miles on single carriageway roads to get home. So I was thinking North London or a little further north / east.

Sorry to be such a pain.

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used to be littleoldman but forgot password due to failing memory

At the end of your journey is Brentwood Holiday Inn, but it isn't cheap. If you stop at Thurrock which is 20 mins from Brentwood, just after the Dartford crossing you have a much wider choice, Ibis, Premier Inn (2) etc etc. Then you have a lot of choices of places to eat within reasonable walking distance, although not on the doorstep.

Just before the crossing is the Dartford Hilton, another Premier Inn and Holiday Inn express, so something to meet you cheap criteria Although not particularly cheap in that area of the M25